This Commercialization Workshop is organized for the purpose of equipping small high tech firms in our state with the business concepts and methods essential to sound planning for new high tech products and for company growth. Dr. Marsha R. Torr, Vice President for Research, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is the gracious host for this workshop, and members of VCU's Business School faculty will provide astute instruction in hey dimensions of the business planning process. Though not intended for academic credit, the content offered is, in effect, a short course in small high tech enterprises. To assure contact with the real world of SBIR competition, founding CEOs of three leading Virginia companies are featured to share their SBIR experience as high tech growth companies.

A special feature of the workshop is a luncheon address by Dr. Charles Wessner, Director of the Program on technology and Innovation, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. Dr. Wessner currently leads a Congressionally mandated study of the 21-year old SBIR program in its five largest agencies and will brief us on this milestone effort to evaluate its performance and, in particular, its economic effects.